Double Rainbow on the Madison

October 9^th was a full day off from work. I camped at Madison Campground for the night so I could spend more of my time fishing in search of those run-up trout from Hebgen Lake. From the campground, you can walk to Junction Pool just a few hundred yards away where the Firehole joins the Gibbon to form the Madison. A short twenty minute drive from the campground takes you down to the Barns Pools.

Chilly Dawn on the Madison River, Oct 9th

Another week had gone by in Yellowstone country, and still no ‘fishing weather.’ No rain or snow; still bluebird cloudless skies. Very unseasonal. At least, it had stayed colder, that should help move the fish.

From my series of outings on the Madison River in recent weeks, I have noticed a distinct morning and evening bite to the fishing. My plan was to be at Barns Pool to take advantage of that, and to be a little less intense about it midday.

I arrived at the parking lot before sunrise. It was cold, about 20 degrees, clear, calm. I would share the spot with about half a dozen other anglers, still not the crowd I had anticipated.

Rainbow Trout, Barns Pool

I had my 7 weight rod this time, rigged for nymphing.  I was in a take-no-prisoners mood. It was fall on the Madison, big fish were being caught, and I was down to my last handful of days to fish before my Yellowstone season would end. I joined the line of anglers at the top of the hole, four of us, and began fishing.

Did I say it was cold? It was cold…think steelhead fishing in Michigan. Iced-up rod guides grabbing at the line, numb fingers. After months of cursing the cloudless skies and bright Rocky Mountain sun, I was coaching the sun to climb over the hilltop this morning. Other than numb fingers and the pesky ice on the rod, though, I was very comfortable in my cold weather layers.

The sun was on the water by the third rotation down the three hundred yard run of Barns Pool #1 (takes about half an hour when done at the right pace). Its warmth cleared the rod guides and warmed my fingers. I had missed a nice strike by a good fish, but otherwise it was already a great fishing morning. There I was…at the zenith of my Yellowstone trip in terms of the fishing, working Barns Pool in October.

Landing fish with new ghost net, so much easier

The bigger rod was working great, easily throwing the floppy nymph rig and mending long drifts through the pool. I felt the confidence of being a regular, familiar now with how to fish here.

Barns Pool has several sweet spots to it, one being at the bottom of the run and on the far side. Many guys walk out of the run before they get down there, but I had seen a lot of good fish taken there. It takes a little extra effort to fish it; a farther cast and across a current differential.

I was working that piece of water when I got another nice strike. This time, the hook set. Immediately, a big trout came leaping out of the water heading upstream. Rainbow trout, no doubt! What a great feeling to have a big trout on, the payoff when time, effort, skill, and chance finally intersect.

Barns Pool is a great place to fight a big fish. There is space to play the fish, no snags, and the depth gives way gradually up to a shallow gravel bar. I have learned from all my Yellowstone fishing to just be patient landing a good fish. Let the rod and the reel drag do their job rather than pull too hard. It was a great fight with a strong fish. After the usual last nervous moments right at the net, there she was in my net, a gorgeous Hebgen Lake rainbow trout. Crimson gills, rainbow flank, coal-black spots on silver and olive body. It was 10 am on a bright, cloudless morning…boy, do I Iove Rocky Mountain trout fishing!

That was the only fish I saw taken that morning. Walking back up the bank, I struck up a conversation with a fellow angler, a local resident with years of experience fishing the fall run on the Madison. He said the big run of fish still had not happened yet, that when it does, the entire Barns Pool fills with fish. As evidence, he wore only hip boots and worked the water virtually from the bank rather than wading midway across. He suggested I watch Walter, another local angler, who was working Cable Car Run, the next hole upriver. I did so, and found Walter in the same mode…in hip boots, walking within feet of the bank, casual quarter-downstream casts swinging the fly.

Midday cloud cover...finally!

I spent midday running into town for a sandwich, then exploring a favorite spot below Grasshopper Bank to see if any fish had showed up in the past week. Sure enough, I found a pod of rising fish. From the look of some of the riseforms, they looked to be more than just dinks going after a tiny mayfly on the water. I was completely unprepared to fish dry flies, though, and my attempts at these fish showed it. An inadequate leader plus the confounding matrix of cross-currents quickly taxed my patience. My mind was fixed on fishing the evening at Barns Pool, and a shot at another fish like the one this morning.

I arrived there about 5 pm. Several anglers were working the run. While suiting up, I noticed this group of anglers started fishing the run below the very top where the main current curls around a rock corner on the far bank. They were ignoring a piece of slack water there at the top.

I recalled the advice of an angler the week before, ‘if you’re the first one in the hole, always work that slack piece of water before you wade into it…fish like to hold there.’  Heeding that advice, I stopped short of that spot and threw into the slack water. On just my second cast of the evening, I was tied to another strong fish. It ran straight down the river, nearly to the bottom of the pool. Working the fish around another angler, I netted it on the shallow gravel bar. It was another beautiful rainbow trout, male and a little bigger than the morning fish.

Campsite at Madison Campground...Oct 9th, still dry as a bone

I fished until sunset, content with the day. With one last week of fishing to look forward to, my Yellowstone season was coming to a very satisfying end.